by Mark Ollig
Over
20 years ago, the goal was to have a national online library anyone could
access. It would be a large-scale, digital public library database where
information and knowledge could be easily accessible and navigable, by everyone
with an Internet connection.
This
vision has been the focus and goal of many individuals and groups over the
years.
Today,
we have websites such as the Internet Archive, which stores (for future
reference) historical and publicly uploaded content, and archives screenshots
of web pages.
We
also have online access to the government’s national library; we know it as the
Library of Congress, which catalogs our country’s historical items of
significance.
When
researching a subject, how many of us are in the habit of automatically
choosing to perform a Google query, and then sorting out the numerous links we
find?
I,
too, have my hand raised, as well.
We
now have a new choice.
It’s
called the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).
“I
think we are going to have a lot better descriptions that won’t come through in
a Google search,” said Dan Cohen, executive director, Digital Public Library of
America. “It will be a far superior experience,” he added.
The
DPLA can be thought of as a “search portal for researchers,” said Cohen.
An
advantage of conducting research using DPLA is having access to information
submitted by local museums and historical societies which was previously stored
only on their local computer hard drives. These hard drives were inaccessible
from the Internet thus their information would not be found using a Google
search.
Today,
a brand-new, richly-detailed source of information is available for us to
explore.
Access
to this growing library of information and knowledge is now available from the
newly opened DPLA website located at http://dp.la.
DPLA
states its mission is “to make the cultural and scientific heritage of humanity
available, free of charge, to all.”
I
came across an article in The Economic Times, where Cohen pointed out how DPLA
can be used by researchers and students as a primary source of information,
versus using Wikipedia.
“Wikipedia
is a secondary source, but we are going to have the stuff . . . but I think
Wikipedia will be a great partner,” he said.
According
to Cohen, DPLA will have, “the full array of materials including music,
photography, all kinds of art and manuscripts.”
April
18, the first phase of the DPLA and its vast collection of more than two
million items of interest became available online to the public.
Using
an Internet connection, anyone can freely browse the digital copies of
historical photographs, cultural and scientific records, documents, and the
audio and video anthologies provided by the libraries, universities, and museum
galleries located all across the country.
The
world’s largest museum, the Smithsonian Institution, will serve as one of the
digital content hubs for DPLA.
Other
content hubs include the New York Public Library, the National Archives,
Harvard Library, Biodiversity Heritage Library, and Artstor.
Minnesota
will also be playing a role in the Digital Public Library of America.
The
133 Internet link resources from the Minnesota Digital Library’s county and
state museums, libraries, foundations, historical centers and society websites
will be providing digital content to the DPLA’s repository.
The
Minnesota Digital Library will also be digitizing its special collections,
making them searchable through the DPLA.
One
example of a DPLA exhibit includes American Indian culture in Minnesota.
Outreach
and education on how to access the DPLA’s resources in local communities, along
with supporting digitized oral histories, will be financed in part via funding
received from the National Endowments for the Humanities, and the Knight
Foundation.
The
Minnesota Digital Library is a program of the Minnesota Office of Higher
Education, and the University of Minnesota. It is located at
http://www.mndigital.org.
In
addition to the general public, DPLA’s content will be available “with no new
restrictions, via a service available to libraries, museums, and archives in
the United States, where use and reuse is governed only by public law,” read a
statement from the DPLA’s principles for technical development wiki.
“Special
features will include a dynamic map, a timeline that allow users to visually
browse by year or decade, and an app library that provides access to
applications and tools created by external developers using DPLA’s open data,”
stated the DPLA.
“A
national digital system could help early childhood literacy and other learning,
a prerequisite if students are to live up to their full potentials as learners,
citizens, and future workers,” said Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of
Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences.
“We
are bringing together the richest of America’s archives and museums, and making
them easily searchable for teachers, scholars, journalists and others,” said
Cohen.
We
now have access to the first phase of a centralized, digital public library
which contains information contributed from thousands of national, state,
county, and local databases.
I
hope you take time and visit the online Digital Public Library of America.
